


You Wanted Me Gone

by crackspines



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bat Brothers, Bat Family, Batfamily Feels, Bonding, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-14 17:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18952669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crackspines/pseuds/crackspines
Summary: Following the sound of teenagers laughing cruelly, Damian finds an injured kitten stuck in a drainage pipe in Jason’s territory. He beats up the teens, sending them running and is trying to rescue the kitten when Jason shows up. Damian stubbornly won’t tell Jason why he’s in his territory, and they almost come to blows before the kitten starts mewling. Thus comes the opportunity for Jason to see Damian’s soft side and show him his own.





	You Wanted Me Gone

That night’s patrol had not been kind to Damian. The diminutive Robin ran into two muggers, a pissed off Killer Croc, and prostitute fighting with her pimp in the course of a few hours. The various run-ins left him with several bruises, a headache, and an oozing head wound. After the blow to the forehead, he decided to, quite literally, hang up his cape for the night.  
Speeding back through Gotham and towards the manner, Damian’s cycle skidded to a stop at a sudden red light, engine noise dying out. The sudden silence of the deserted, destitute part of town was sliced through by a couple of high-pitched cackles. The noise came from down an alley to Damian’s right, and he frowned.

  
That kind of unbridled joy in Gotham was suspicious. Technically, this wasn’t his territory, though. Todd unofficially owned Crime Alley.

  
Wiping off a bit of blood rolling down his face, Damian parked his cycle by the mouth of the alley without a second thought. No one would dare steal something from the heir of Batman and Ra’s al Ghul, and he didn’t answer to Todd.

  
The smell from a nearby dumpster, a hybrid of Thai food and methyl methacrylate, made the air thick. Just before the opening dead ended at the side of a warehouse, three teens in worn clothing crowded around a drainage pipe. One of them had a tire iron and was poking it into the build’s pipe while the others egged their friend on, giggling and hitting each other on the arm.  
Maybe it was because Damian hadn’t hit puberty yet, but he couldn’t see the appeal.

  
Just when Damian was about to turn around, leaving Todd to his precious Crime Alley, a yowl sounded from the pipe after a vicious poke. The temperature of Damian’s blood plunged, and he saw in shades of pure rage.

  
There was an animal trapped in that pipe.

  
His justice was swift and violent. The first teen didn’t see him coming, and he crashed to the ground after Damian kicked out his knee. The other two gaped for a moment and then ran at Robin. Probable concussion or no, Damian made quick work of the other two with a series of painful jabs.

  
Only a couple minutes into the fight, the teens struggled to their feet and ran as fast as their off-brand sneakers could take them. Damian let them go with reluctance, knuckles turning white around his staff.

  
Once the three were out of sight, Damian crouched down next to the pipe, shining a gentle light inside. A lot of mud, leaves, and street gunk obscured most of his view, but he could make out a damp, dirty, and bleeding orange kitten. His little body was wedged far back into the pipe, and he was shaking--from cold or shock, Damian didn’t know.

  
“Seems like there’s one too many Bats in my territory tonight,” a familiar voice said from the fire escape above.

  
Damian rose, putting his body between the Red Hood and the trapped kitten. “Hood.”

  
Jason, full helmet on, jumped down to the damp concrete, boots hitting with an echoing thump. His body language was tense, ready for the fight that usually followed the newest Robin wherever he went. And far be it from Jason to pass up the chance to royally spank his little brother.

  
“What are you doing in my territory, babybird?” Jason asked with a growl.

  
“You have an agreement with Father and Grayson,” he said, bringing his staff out in front of his body. “Not with me.”

  
Jason would be doing Bruce a personal favor by handing this kid his ass and attitude on a plate. It takes a village and all that.

  
Bodies tensing for a fight, Damian brought his staff to an offensive position while Jason prepared his fists. The two were just about to start in on each other when the kitten let out another pitiful cry from the pipe.

  
Attention snapping to the pipe, Jason couldn’t help but blink in surprise when Damian stepped more firmly in front of the drain. The boy’s chin stuck out stubbornly, making him look like a mule. Or worse, like his father.

  
“This is none of your concern, Todd.” Ice sickles could have formed on his words. “I’ll leave your _territory_ as soon as I’m done here.”  
Instead of heading Damian’s unspoken command, Jason came forward and crouched in front of the pipe. After a brief examination, he looked up at Damian. “How were you planning on getting him out?”

  
“I’m more than capable of freeing one cat.”

  
“Easy, kid,” Jason said. “It wasn’t a criticism. I just wanted to know what our plan is.”

  
That statement brought Damian up short. He hadn’t spent much time with Todd, as he and his father weren’t on great terms at the moment. When he did come around to manner or they met on the streets, they mostly traded blows and insults. Why wasn’t he reporting his intrusion to Damian’s father? Why was he pretending to care about the cat?

  
When Damian did speak, his voice was refreshingly hesitant. “You want to help?”

  
Jason ignored him, fishing out a hand-held laser from one of his pockets instead. With Damian’s supervision, he cut through the excess metal about a foot from where the kitten sat, still shaking. The work was slow, because neither Bat wanted to accidentally hit the cat or let debris bury him before they could pull him out.

  
Once the cutting was done, Damian reached in carefully and pulled the kitten out, avoiding any claws or teeth the scared animal might try to use on him. Once the cat was exposed to the light of the moon, Damian could see that apart from a few cuts and a huge amount of caked-on mud, the kitten was unharmed.

  
Standing, Jason clapped him on the shoulder. Under his helmet, a wry smile spread across his face. “Don’t you just love a happy ending? We should get him to the humane society. They can fix him up and find him a home.”

  
Instead of moving with Jason as he made his way out of the alley, Damian pursed his lips, looking at the shivering kitten and then back at Jason.

  
“I don’t understand,” he said, clutching the kitten close to his chest. “You wanted me gone.”

  
Pausing in his stride, Jason walked back over to the boy. He sensed a serious moment coming on.

  
“Don’t ever be afraid to come to me. You’re my brother, even if your Dad’s an asshole. Even if you hate me. I’d help you rescue kittens and beat up teenagers all night long.”

  
Damian suddenly became very interested with his shoe laces. After waiting a moment for a reply, Jason continued.

  
“So what do you say? Fancy a trip to the pound?”

  
With less hesitation, Damian nodded and followed Jason to where his bike waited next to Damian’s. They found a place for the kitten in one of Jason’s compartments, wrapping him in a blanket to stave off hypothermia.

  
Once they climbed onto their respective bikes, Damian paused a moment before starting his engine. Quietly, he said, “I don’t hate you.”

  
The grin Jason sported earlier came back in full force. “I don’t hate you either, babybird,” he said. “And I am _so_ telling Dick you said that.”


End file.
